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Spanish (Spain)

### **Sentir que**: to sense, or to be sorry

**Sentir** has two meanings, and the mood after **que** tells you which one. With the indicative it means *to feel, to sense*: you notice that something is true. With the subjunctive it means *to be sorry*, the meaning of **lo siento**, and like other feelings about someone else's situation it takes the subjunctive.

| indicative: I sense | subjunctive: I'm sorry |
|---|---|
| Siento que **estás** triste. | Siento que **estés** triste. |
| I can tell you're sad. | I'm sorry you're sad. |

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One letter changes the whole message.

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For a past event you are sorry about now, the perfect subjunctive is the usual choice (**hayas podido**). When the event lies further back, the imperfect subjunctive also works: *Siento que no pudieras venir el sábado*.

### **No sabía que** + indicative

When you have just found something out and accept it as a fact, **no sabía que** is usually followed by the indicative, with the tenses of reported speech.

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### **No sabía que** + subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive is also correct, and common, when the news still surprises you or you are not vouching for it: it keeps a little distance.

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If you are unsure, the indicative is the safe choice for a plain fact you have just learned.

Meaning that depends on the mood (siento que, no sabía que)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
I feel that something isn't right.	Siento que algo no va bien.
I felt that someone was looking at me.	Sentí que alguien me miraba.
Sometimes I feel that you don't listen to me.	A veces siento que no me escuchas.
I can tell that you are sad; talk to me.	Siento que estás triste; háblame.
I'm sorry that you are sad.	Siento que estés triste.
I'm very sorry that you weren't able to come.	Siento mucho que no hayas podido venir.
We are sorry that you guys didn't like the hotel.	Sentimos que el hotel no os haya gustado.
I'm sorry that your grandfather is sick.	Siento que tu abuelo esté enfermo.
I didn't know that you spoke German.	No sabía que hablabas alemán.
I didn't know that Luis lived in Madrid.	No sabía que Luis vivía en Madrid.
Sorry, I didn't know that you were here.	Perdona, no sabía que estabas aquí.
We didn't know that the shop closed on Mondays.	No sabíamos que la tienda cerraba los lunes.
I didn't know that something like that existed.	No sabía que existiera algo así.
I didn't know you could smoke here.	No sabía que aquí se pudiera fumar.
I didn't know that the museum was free.	No sabía que el museo fuera gratis.
I didn't know that it was so easy.	No sabía que fuera tan fácil.

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